The Container Store Registers Strong Q4

The Container Store strengthened its market position in its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018, ended March 30, with strong sales growth and a rise in net income.

Fourth quarter consolidated net sales were $253.2 million, up 8.8% as compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. Net sales at The Container Store were $235.7 million, up 10.1%, driven by an increase in comparable store sales of 8.5%, combined with incremental sales from new stores. Elfa third-party net sales were $17.5 million, down 6.4% compared to the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Net income was $15.9 million, or $0.33 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to a net loss of $0.4 million, or $0.01 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.

For the full fiscal year, consolidated net sales were $895.1 million, up 4.4% as compared to fiscal 2017. Net sales at The Container Store were $829.6 million, up 5.4%, driven by a comparable store sales increase of 3.5% combined with incremental sales from new stores. Elfa third-party net sales were $65.5 million, down 6.2% compared to fiscal 2017.

Net income was $21.7 million, or $0.45 per share, in fiscal 2018 compared to net income of $19.4 million, or $0.40 per share in fiscal 2017.

“We ended fiscal 2018 with strong results, posting an 8.5% comparable store sales increase in the fourth quarter that was broad-based across our core Custom Closets business, as well as our other product categories,” said Melissa Reiff, CEO, The Container Store. “This performance reflects the improvements we continue to make across all aspects of our business— in merchandising and new product development, marketing, inventory management and in-stock levels, as well as overall execution with excellence in our stores and our online channel. It also includes the positive impact from the “Marie Kondo effect” that is driving even more interest in our core category of Custom Closets and storage and organization.”

“We have plans in fiscal 2019 to strategically build on our progress to drive more brand awareness and market share gains, specifically in our core Custom Closets business where we recently launched our new Avera product line,” Reiff added. “Our second distribution center in Maryland is planned to become fully operational in late fiscal 2019, positioning us to generate significant efficiencies and a considerable reduction in delivery times leading to improved customer service in fiscal 2020 and beyond.”

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